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Cee Lo solidifies his status as 'King of Neo Soul'

By The Observer · Wednesday, Dec. 1, 2010

Cee Lo Green has already proven his worth as a chart-topping soul man with Gnarls Barkley, the duo he formed with indie producer Danger Mouse that produced the smash hit "Crazy." He returns for "The Lady Killer," his first full-length since Gnarls Barkley's two albums, in much the same fashion — with a runaway, smash-hit soul song.

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Christmas Carols: Treasures and Travesties

By The Observer · Wednesday, Dec. 1, 2010

While driving to school after Thanksgiving break, my friend and I noticed a decidedly happier car atmosphere. Was the plethora of baked goods I had crammed into my backpack responsible? Partly, yes. However, it was the constant stream of holiday cheer pumping out of the car speakers that sent us into a caroling frenzy. During this drive of four-plus hours, I heard nearly every Christmas carol, ranging from the fantastic to the immediate-scan worthy. This diverse array of songs led me to craft a list: the songs that are Christmas favorites, and the ones that will surely induce holiday displeasure.  

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No exaggeration necessary for Kanye West's new masterpiece

By The Observer · Tuesday, Nov. 30, 2010

This is a big moment. The fact that everything Kanye West does is important makes creating an album as ambitious and groundbreaking as "My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy" tremendously risky. He didn't have to make this album. Something along the lines of "Graduation," with two or three pop-radio singles we all know West is more than capable of creating, would have suited critics and fans just fine.

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From Keenan Hall to Jake Gyllenhaal

By The Observer · Tuesday, Nov. 30, 2010

Jamie Reidy is an acclaimed author, whose memoir "Hard Sell: The Evolution of a Viagra Salesman" catalyzed the creation of the new film "Love and Other Drugs." In the film, Jake Gyllenhaal portrays Jamie, and Anne Hathaway stars as his fictional love interest.

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Music Under the Radar: Found Family

By The Observer · Monday, Nov. 22, 2010

The situation: Music hunters seek, read, blog and cull music from radio, print, and most often, the interwebs. Music gatherers collect mix CDs, free digital downloads and whatever their friends happen to be listening to. If you are a gatherer, this space is for you. If you are a hunter, e-mail me your latest find, and I promise you'll find it written up here. (Seriously. E-mail. Even if you're not a student.)

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Stay home on Black Friday

By The Observer · Monday, Nov. 22, 2010

Thanksgiving is a time for good food, loving family and friendly football. Or at least that's what most assume. In reality, there is a deeper, darker side to this seemingly delightful holiday: Black Friday.

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Fashion by Felicia

By The Observer · Monday, Nov. 22, 2010

I prescribe to a certain behavior I like to call "borrowing beyond borders." This behavior usually is at its zenith at the beginning of the school year and, of course, during the holidays, especially at Thanksgiving.

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B.B. King in the Bend

By The Observer · Monday, Nov. 22, 2010

Famed blues artist B.B. King will be playing at the Morris Performing Arts Center Jan. 16. With his famous Gibson guitar "Lucille," King is sure to put on a spectacular show.

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Bruce Springsteen reissues one of his best

By The Observer · Sunday, Nov. 21, 2010

For the most part, the pop culture world met Bruce Springsteen in 1984. "Born In the USA" was a heartland smash album (a little more John Cougar than Roy Orbison) that outsold anything he'd done before or would ever do. The radio-friendly work seemed to suggest that Springsteen was just "the next big thing," not a genius. Anyone who has ever heard the first 30 seconds of "Thunder Road" knows this isn't the case.

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Deathly Hallows' the best 'Harry Potter' film yet

By The Observer · Sunday, Nov. 21, 2010

"It all ends here." So reads the first poster released for "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1." This tagline seems to balance a strange mix of hope and dismal despair in it, and so too does the first chapter in the final film installment of the "Harry Potter" franchise. Gone are the cloistered-but-inviting walls of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Gone are the carefree days of Quidditch and blossoming romance that so dominated the most recent film, "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince." And most importantly, gone are the ever-present and ever-knowledgeable adult mentors on whom Harry so often relied.

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Twitter Nation

By The Observer · Wednesday, Nov. 17, 2010

Looking for a mode of procrastination? As if the world doesn't know enough about the lives of their favorite celebrities, Twitter offers one more stalking tool for avid fans of movies, music, television and even politics. Oddly enough, Twitter requires agency of the celebrity. They can "tweet" for publicity, to complain or to entertain with absolute nonsense. Here's a handful of notorious celeb tweeters and some examples of their best use of 140 characters:

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Let's Hear It for Delta Spirit

By The Observer · Wednesday, Nov. 17, 2010

New-school Americana rockers Delta Spirit will make an appearance at Legends Saturday night as part of their tour with Darker My Love and The Fling. The five-piece band from San Diego will be crooning from their first EP, "I Think I've Found It", as well as two previous albums, "Ode to Sunshine" and "History From Below." The band also released "The Waits Room EP" on Nov. 16 featuring five songs, "The Flood," "Bushwick Blues," "Devil Knows You're Dead," "John Henry" and "My Dream," which are currently available on iTunes.

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Now & Then: Gender Relations

By The Observer · Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2010

The University of Notre Dame was established as an all-male institution in 1842. Though women were admitted to the university in 1972, the men of early Notre Dame marked their territory on this campus. Their continuing legacy is reflected in the skewed gender relations present on campus today.

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There's nothing worse than a dangerous old man'

By The Observer · Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2010

In more than 30 years in the music business, John Mellencamp has learned how to work a crowd. With plenty of charm, and more than a couple good jokes, the native Hoosier had the packed audience in the palm of his hand Saturday at his excellent performance at the Morris Performing Arts Center.

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